Wanted Fugitive Arrested After Facebook Search Confirms Identity During Traffic Stop

Press release from Oregon State Police.

Photograph of Kerry Prowse - Oregon State Police

(LAKE OSWEGO, OR) - A wanted fugitive was arrested Sunday afternoon during a traffic stop along Interstate 5 near Lake Oswego after an Oregon State Police (OSP) trooper determined the man's true identity through a Facebook search using an in-car OSP mobile data terminal (MDT) computer.

On March 17, 2013 at approximately 5:48 p.m., OSP Trooper Travis Neubauer stopped a 1995 Honda Accord on the northbound ramp to Interstate 5 from Kruse Way for an equipment violation. The car's adult male driver, who was not listed as the registered owner, presented an Oregon operator's license with a photograph that did not clearly match the driver.

The driver claimed the car belonged to his fiance, so using the woman's name, Neubauer did a Facebook search on the in-car MDT and noted she was "in a relationship" with a man named Kerry Prowse. Further inquiry determined Prowse, age 42, from Portland, was a fugitive wanted on felony warrants out of State Parole & Probation and Multnomah County.

When questioned, the driver initially continued to claim he was the person listed on the displayed Oregon license but eventually admitted he was PROWSE. OSP arrested Prowse on the following two felony warrants:

• Parole Violation (State Parole & Probation)
• Felon in Possession of a Weapon, UUMV, and Unlawful Possession of Methamphetamine (Multnomah County)

Prowse was also cited for DUII - Drugs and misdemeanor Driving While Suspended. He was lodged in the Clackamas County Jail. Other charges may be pending as the investigation continues.